Crocodile Tears
by Lookathooves
Summary: Lor'themar has no idea how to comfort children, so when Salandria knocks on his chamber door in the middle of the night with tears streaming down her face, he does everything in his power to help her find comfort without her mother, and in the process, helps himself find comfort without her as well. WoD timeline.
This sprung to mind one night while I was playing Warcraft. Random thoughts are indeed random. I do hope you enjoy! This takes place during WoD.

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 **Crocodile Tears**

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It was late. The stars that dotted the blackened sky as the Regent Lord glanced out his window told him so. Running his fingers through his hair, he turned his focus back towards the red, gaudy desk with piles, after piles of envelopes. He shuffled through a few - some from Orgrimmar, some from Undercity.

They all had one thing in common. They were all boring. And didn't hold any place in his to-read list for some time.

Lor'themar grunted as he shuffled through some more envelopes that read in clear, bold letters:

 **URGENT BUSINESS. PLEASE RESPOND IMMEDIATELY.**

Last time he got some letters as such, it was just the Goblins complaining about dull food items that were currently being shipped to various places in Kalimdor. It honestly made him chuckle and toss it into the nearby trash can. It's not that he didn't care about the Horde or any of it's members, but some of them were far too eccentric for his taste.

Besides. At the present time, he was searching for one particular letter. Or, at least, he had hoped there would be a letter. After searching through the piles for about another fourteen minutes, he had almost given up hope hearing from a certain fiery tempered Blood Knight when he seen it. His heart skipped a beat as he held the gold trimmed envelope between his fingers, her handwriting quite noticeable before he had even read to whom it was from.

Lady Liadrin.

Just as he was about to rip open the envelope, a small knock was heard. The Regent Lord's eyebrows shot up at the boldness of whatever elf had thought it was a good idea to interrupt him in the middle of the night, but he shrugged it off and stuck the letter into his back pocket for safe keeping.

He yanked the door open and was met with a small child with pale blonde hair and glassy eyes.

"Salandria?" His head tilted on its own accord as he took in the sight of the girl. Her nose was red and slightly running while her bottom lip quivered at the sight of him. Before he even got anymore words out, she shot out and hugged him, her head reaching mid-thigh as she buried her face into his clunky armor.

"C-can I stay with you? I-I had a nightmare." She choked out.

"W-well. I don't really-"

"PLEASE!" She yelled at him, a look of despair on her face. She certainly picked up the yelling from her mother, that was for sure.

He honestly had no problem with Salandria. He loved the little girl to pieces.. he just didn't understand how to be a proper parental figure to her. He didn't understand children in general. He was good with them, but when it came to comforting.. that was something a little beyond his expertise.

"If you wish." He stepped to the side and held his hands out like he was welcoming a guest to a meeting. _Oh, yeah. That's sure to get the little girl to be less stressed out._ Thankfully she didn't even seem to pay attention to him as she bolted to his Queen-size bed and jumped onto it like she was getting ready to take a dive into a lake. She bounced slightly before sitting still and staring at the mass amount of letters piled onto the nearby desk.

"What are all those?"

"Uhm. Just some important letters concerning Silvermoon." He shut the door and walked over to the desk and picked up some letters that had fallen on the floor earlier.

"Is that why you're still up?"

"I- yes. I was going through and responding to some rather serious letters."

"Why do you still have your armor on? Isn't that uncomfortable? Mama Liadrin always tells me that Spaulders can be a pain to deal with. Thankfully I won't have to wear them for awhile. For now my training consists of studying and writing. I really hate writing. I feel like it's the most boring thing in the world. I have to study and then I have to write out and recite things - basic things. Like spells and whatnot. I'm not even learning about anything other than healing, at the moment. What I really want to learn about is how to fight! I'd rather do anything then be cooped up in my room all day learning about stuff I can't even do yet. I also want t-"

The talking never stopped. Lor'themar started to wonder if the little girl had a turn off switch, but from what he could see she must have been solar powered and was now releasing all of her energy at once.

"Pardon my interruption, Salandria, but why didn't you go to your babysitter for help? Isn't she one of your mother's Blood Knights? Surely she could help you with your nightmare problem." The little girl sniffed and shook her head, her mouth clamping shut with a look of pure hatred burning in her eyes.

"She made me go to bed early. Mama Liadrin always let's me stay up until 8:30. But she decided to make me go to bed at 8! She also wouldn't give me any dessert; told me that fatty foods would be impractical for a Blood Knight since it would make them fat and slow them down."

Lor'themar smiled and chuckled as he took in the sight of the girl pouting over the simplest of things. He sat on the bed near her. "Isn't that true, though? About the fatty foods? You said you wanted to train, and that may be part of the training routine."

"That it may be for her, but Mama Liadrin is the Matriarch and last year after you left to go to Pandaria on that orc man's orders, I seen her eat over half a chocolate cake on her own. After she seen me she let me have some with her, but by morning, it was all gone. Mama isn't fat, though."

He scratched his chin as he looked off at the far wall, his thoughts now focusing on Liadrin and her chocolate cake craving. "That seems very unlike her. Are you sure she ate it all?"

"Oh, yeah. It was the only way she could stop the crying. Told me that it was her comfort food." The little girl looked down at her lap and rubbed at her eyes, indicating that she was trying to hide more tears.

"Crying?" He meant the question about Liadrin, but made the gesture for Salandria as he pulled the girl towards his frame until she was leaning against him. After a few moments of silence, she nodded her head.

"She was crying because she missed you and she was worried for your safety. That's also why I was hoping you could get me a piece of cake.."

Lor'themar rubbed the girl's head until her hair looked like she'd gotten into a brawl with a grizzly bear as he thought about how Liadrin had missed him just as much as he missed her. How the tables have turned. Now he feared for her life over in that destructive land fighting demons. He did smile as he pictured Liadrin eating chocolate cake by the fork-fulls, though. He only left his trance when the platinum blonde child pushed his hand out of her hair.

"You're messing up my hair!"

"Oh. Sorry." He cleared his throat. "So that's why you left your baby-sitter, is it? Because she wouldn't let you have your comfort food? You miss your mother."

There was a long pause. One that made Lor'themar extremely uncomfortable. He was even more uncomfortable when he seen the little girl wipe her nose using the sleeve of her night gown.

"I don't know how to make cake."

"... oh." Seeing the look on her face felt like being shot with an arrow. He missed Liadrin. Not only for her presence, but how she knew what to do in any situation.

Suddenly, an idea sprung to mind and he leaped up, almost knocking the little girl off the bed in the process. The letter!

"I almost forgot. This will surely cheer you up." He reached behind and pulled the letter out of his pocket. "Let's see here.."

"Is that a letter from mama?" Her face beamed as Lor'themar nodded. Tears instantly left and a smile replaced her frown. "Why'd you have it in your pocket and not on the desk?"

"Ah. Well I was about to read it when you came in and figured I'd put it away for safe-keeping so I wouldn't lose it. She might have some news of the recent-" Salandria gave him the most sly looks he'd ever seen a child make.

"Uh huh. You and Mama are soooo going to be a great couple when you both admit your feelings to each other." Lor'themar's eyes narrowed as his cheeks heated up. Halduron had made that comment just the other day and Salandria had been hanging around the ranger for quite some time, now.

"You and Halduron are going to kill me. I'll have you know that if - and I do mean if - we ever get together, it'll be when we feel that way towards each other, but at the moment she doesn't feel the sa-"

"Oh, save your excuses. I want to read the letter!" She bounced herself up and down on the bed and Lor'themar unfolded the note to reveal one more. He handed Salandria her two-page long letter and she instantly shut up and began to read. The remaining letter was addressed to him, naturally.

Lorthemar,

I hope you're not too worried about me. I'm doing quite well. My Blood Knights have been very successful in vanquishing the demons in Talador. Oh, my gosh. It's so beautiful here. You'd love it. Aside from the demons and the blood-thirsty orcs, of course. I've made a few new friends here, and I hope they all survive. It's a tough environment out here and I can't help but worry about those around me. But again - don't fret about me. I know how to take care of myself.

But aside from that, I've very much missed you. I hope that you and Salandria can read your letters together, in hopes that you will both find comfort in each other during these times. I miss you both greatly.

Before I forget to mention it, would you please tell Salandria's baby-sitter that her bed time is now 8:30 as opposed to it's normal time? I forgot to mention it to her and I'm sure Salandria is a bit frustrated by it if the sitter doesn't believe her. Ha! Children can be so finicky about that.

This letter is being rushed. I wrote Salandria's first, and now I find myself with very little time to write yours. The messenger waits even as I write. Perhaps it was because I didn't know how to tell you what I'm about to tell you, which I'm sure I'll regret as soon as the messenger takes the portal and the letter is out of my reach.

Well. It's better now than never.

The past few months, ever since you openly admitted your feelings to me, I've been thinking about you almost every waking moment. I lay awake at night thinking what our life would have been like if I had remained a priestess and you were still a ranger. Would we have been more open to each other? Or perhaps we would have went our seperate ways.

But the past is the past, right? Lor'themar, I feel a great admiration towards you. One that goes beyond anything I've felt for a man. I only hope you allow me into your heart when I return. Sadly, I do not know when my arrival shall be, for I've heard little news from either party at this time. Just know that I'm thinking of you. And that I miss you.

Liadrin.

Lor'themar knew he should be happy, but his heart just grieved. He wanted his Blood Knight in his arms, for the next time she was, he would never let go. Salandria, on the other hand, was smiling as she read her letter.

"Mama said she's got a big present for me when she gets back! She didn't tell me what it was, but I'm hoping it's a dragon! Or maybe some special type of sword. Maybe it's all glowy and blue. I'll have so much fun! Oh, I hope she comes home soon." Her bouncing on the bed halted as she seen Lor'themar staring off into the distance.

"So what did mama have to say to you?"

"She- she, uh. Well."

"Oh, come on. The anticipation is _killing_ me."

Lor'themar chuckled and stuffed the letter into his back pocket while Salandria tightly held hers in her hand. He swooped down and picked the child up, holding her like a sack of flour in one arm. He was feeling somewhat better.

"You're going to have to stop hanging around Halduron. You and him are going to be the death of me and your mother." He still continued to chuckle as the girl smiled brightly.

"Where are you taking me?" She asked as he opened up the door, the guards giving the duo strange looks.

"To the kitchens!" He pointed his finger down the winding hallway towards said location. "It's time to learn how to make cake. I think we're both gonna need it after tonight. What do you say?"

"I say yes to cake!" She held both of her arms out in front of her, giggling the entire way. Salandria was smart for a girl of her age, though. And she couldn't help but notice his change in tune ever since he read the letter.

"What exactly _did_ mama say in that letter?"

"That she looked forward to coming home to everyone."

"Liar."

And the questions continued to spew out of the little girl's mouth, not stopping until her mouth was filled to the brim with chocolate cake. It wasn't the best cake in the world that they made, but it meant something more than just a simple tasty dessert.

* * *

"What in the world? Rommath! Get in here."

"What could possibly be so-"

Rommath came in just in time to see Halduron, arms crossed, looking down at the sleeping duo at the far end of the red and gold trimmed dining table, cake splattered in every which direction on the little girl's mouth as she rested herself between the arms of an equally chocolate coated Lor'themar Theron. In front of them was a single slice of cake that apparently couldn't be stuffed down either palate.

Halduron let out a barking laugh and the first thing Lor'themar woke up to was Halduron asking if it was possible for a grown man and a little girl the size of his arm to eat an entire cake by themselves.

Lor'themar shook off his teasing antics and smiled at the sleeping girl in his arms. Life was good.

Except when Archmage Aethas Sunreaver and a couple of mages followed in after Rommath. That meeting was today, wasn't it?


End file.
